Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic cards including electronic greeting cards.
Description of the Related Art
An electronic card, otherwise known as an “e-card” or “e-greeting card” is an electronic form of a notice, postcard or greeting card, differing only in that unlike a traditional notice, postcard or greeting card, an electronic card is created digitally and delivered digitally without having been reduced to hardcopy from creation to delivery. Electronic greeting cards typically are developed through specialty Web sites either at no charge or at some minor cost utilizing digital design tools presented through the specialty Web sites. Once created, the specialty Web site coordinates the transfer of the newly created electronic greeting card to an intended recipient.
Typically, the author of an electronic card selects a card template from an on-line catalog of templates made available on the Web site of an electronic card Web site. Subsequently, the author completes the template so as to personalize the electronic card. The completion of the template may include not only the addition of a textual message, but also the addition of a photographic image, a video or audio—typically a song. Finally, the author may address the completed electronic card with the e-mail address of the intended recipient so that the Web site may then transmit the electronic card to the intended recipient.
The basic nature of the electronic card has improved over time to include many advanced features. One advanced feature is the provisioning of a gift card or gift certificate in conjunction with the transmission of an electronic greeting card to an intended recipient. Another advanced feature is the group electronic greeting card in which a single gift is presented by multiple individuals “signing” the electronic greeting card, or in which multiple individuals add different message content to a singular electronic greeting card prior to the transmission of the group electronic greeting card to the intended recipient.